1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the treatment of flat glass to reduce its vulnerability to scratching.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flat glass is usually manufactured as a continuous ribbon which is washed and then cut, either to standard sizes or to the size required by the customer, the cut sheets being then stacked for storage and/or transit. When it is desired to cut the sheets further before despatch from the factory, they are generally cut and then washed and rinsed as cut sheets. Even with careful washing it is in practice difficult to eliminate all contaminants and debris, such as fragments of broken glass (cullet) produced during cutting, or particles of a hard nature such as silica (sand) e.g. from the glass-making materials. The presence of such fragments or particles between the stacked sheets can cause scratching even where interleaving materials are used, and further damage can be caused by impact of the corner of one sheet against another during handling.